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The Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) hosted the Advana Industry Day today. During the event, industry and government representatives participated in sessions to learn about DoD's plans to mature Advana, the Department's enterprise data and analytics environment. Advana provides DoD users with data from over 400 business systems, along with tools, services, and analytics for data-driven decision-making.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded 35 grants totaling $18 million under the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2024. The program aims to develop sustainable, multidisciplinary prevention capabilities in local communities, pilot innovative approaches, and identify best practices that can be replicated nationwide.

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a federal court has approved settlements requiring the forfeiture of assets valued at approximately $40 million from defendants accused of defrauding consumers nationwide. The defendants allegedly enrolled consumers, without their knowledge, into continuity plans for CBD and keto-related products they did not agree to purchase.

The Office of the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced today the following assignment:

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has announced nearly $100 million in awards aimed at growing, supporting, and strengthening the health workforce. This funding seeks to improve access to quality care in high-need areas across the United States. The announcement coincided with an HHS Health Workforce Roundtable held as part of HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s Health Workforce Initiative.

The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a consent judgment to recover $550,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 614 employees from a Las Vegas construction company. The judgment was entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada following an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer delivered remarks on September 17, 2024, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office. In his speech, Mizer highlighted the significant milestones achieved by the COPS Office over three decades.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland delivered remarks on September 17, 2024, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). He began by acknowledging an ongoing FBI investigation into an apparent assassination attempt against a former official in Florida, emphasizing the Justice Department's commitment to thoroughly investigating the matter.

NEW YORK, REDMOND, WA, AND ABU DHABI — September 17, 2024 – The drive to develop more powerful AI capabilities will require significant infrastructure investment. Today, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Microsoft, and MGX announced the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) to invest in new and expanded data centers to meet growing demand for computing power and energy infrastructure. These investments will be primarily in the United States and partner countries.

Geeked Week continued Tuesday with news and sneak peeks for some of the most beloved genre series, films, and games.

The House Committee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on September 18 at 10 a.m. Eastern time, titled "A Country Without Borders: How the Biden-Harris Open-Borders Policies Have Undermined Our Safety and Security," according to a September 12 news release from the committee.

The Biden Administration has announced the availability of $117 million in grants aimed at advancing recycling infrastructure and preventing food waste. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed these funding opportunities as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, facilitated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma will travel to New York City from September 17-18. In New York, Deputy Secretary Verma will speak at the Skift Global Forum and meet with industry executives about the Department’s work to support global travel and tourism.

U.S. and Indian officials convened today in New Delhi, India, to discuss opportunities to expand collaboration during the eighth U.S.-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah P. Royal co-chaired the Dialogue for the United States with Indian Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary for the Americas Nagaraj Naidu and Indian Ministry of Defense Joint Secretary for International Cooperation Vishwesh...

AI-powered chatbots draw on the collective work of billions of humans. To respond to user queries, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and other large language models rely on their analysis of trillions of words posted online. Similarly, image generators produce graphics by analyzing billions of photos and illustrations available on the web. Unless these systems are given a specific, limited store of content to learn from, they "crawl" the web to gather the necessary data.

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said that his Hong Kong Autonomy Act contains tools that could be used to counter attacks on freedom of the press in Hong Kong. Van Hollen shared his statement in an August 29 post on X.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is distributing more than $2.6 million in refunds to consumers affected by the deceptive practices of online cash advance provider FloatMe. The company had misled consumers with false promises of "free money" and discriminated against certain applicants for cash advances.

Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, reflecting an 8 cent or 10% increase over the previous quarter’s dividend. The dividend is payable Dec. 12, 2024, to shareholders of record on Nov. 21, 2024. The ex-dividend date will be Nov. 21, 2024.

Geeked Week commenced on Monday, delivering news, sneak peeks, and surprise releases for various beloved genre series, films, and games.

On behalf of the United States of America, I extend my congratulations to the people of Papua New Guinea as you celebrate your National Day on September 16.

Brian Darling is president of Liberty Government Affairs, a public affairs firm.

Derek Maltz Sr., former Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) director, said that Mexican drug cartels and China will continue their "deadly operations" by exploiting the open border. Maltz shared his statement in a Sept. 2 post on X.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported a new record of 800,000 fentanyl pills seized in Utah over the past six months. These pills have been "flooding in" from Mexican cartels, according to a statement shared by the DEA on September 9 via X.

The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), regarding trade and tariff announcements from the White House and the U.S. Trade Representative:

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement section 139E of the Internal Revenue Code, established by the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014. This Act allows Tribal governments to provide non-taxable assistance and benefits to Tribal members, which are excluded from their gross income for federal income tax purposes.